STANFORD, Calif. – Charles Rodriguez, a 2011 NSCAA First Team All-American and team captain at Charlotte, has been added to the Stanford men’s soccer staff as a volunteer assistant coach, Jeremy Gunn announced Thursday.
Rodriguez, who played for Gunn with the 49ers and captained the squad that advanced to the 2011 College Cup Championship match, spent the past three seasons on staff at Xavier.
“I learned an incredible amount from Jeremy and felt that when he called, talked about the position and the way things are done here, I just couldn’t say no,” Rodriguez said. “One because of the name ‘Stanford’ and two because I grew a lot playing for him. The program’s success was something that was appealing in its own right as well.”
“Charles was an incredible student-athlete … [and] it was quite obvious that he was destined to be a great future coach,” Gunn said. “He is very thoughtful, very knowledge and very deliberate with how he goes about achieving goals. He has a wonderful personality that I know will add to the tremendous culture we have.”
Last season, the Musketeers won 12 games, rose to No. 10 in the NSCAA rankings and won on the road at both No. 1 Creighton and No. 2 Notre Dame. In 2014, Xavier experienced the greatest season in school history, breaking program records for wins (15), shutouts (11) and team goals against average (0.84). Rodriguez and the XU staff were recognized as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year and Xavier was among the final 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Musketeers finished 2013 campaign 10-7-2 overall and tied for second in conference.
Rodriguez was just as accomplished as a player. As a senior in 2011, he was named a Soccer America First Team All American, was a NSCAA First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region selection and became the first defender in Charlotte history to earn NSCAA First Team All-America honors. He was also named to the 2011 NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team while captaining the 49ers to the national final for the first time in school history.
“He [Gunn] pushes players past boundaries,” Rodriguez said of his former coach and now colleague. “You think you have a limit for yourself and he says you can do one more and then another and another. He has this belief, not only with his own philosophy, but with the guys he brings in to his program.”
“It’s easy to be gung-ho, fired up and excited to compete, but it takes a special mind to actually dissect things, understand the big picture and then be able to transfer it into your own performance and your team’s performance,” Gunn added of Rodriguez. “As a player he took care of his job wonderfully, but he was also an organizer and leader on the pitch, coaching other players and consistently problem-solving.”
The center back guided a Charlotte defense that had nine shutouts, limited 21 foes to a goal or less and only allowed four goals in six NCAA Tournament games in 2011. During Rodriguez’s four years, the 49ers tallied 30 shutouts.
“I’d like to add little subtleties to the back four,” Rodriguez commented. “I’m a big fan of defending and I hate allowing goals. I think just as there’s an art to attacking there is certainly an art to defending.”
The Cardinal has led the Pac-12 in goals against average each of the past two seasons and finished sixth in the nation in that category a year ago (0.62). Stanford's defense surrendered just 15 goals in 2015, its lowest total since 2001 (13) and did not concede a single goal at the College Cup against a pair of top-10 offenses in Akron (2.33 goals per game) and Clemson (2.17 goals per game).
Rodriguez was drafted in the third round of Major League Soccer's 2012 Supplemental Draft by D.C. United and spent time in the District before moving on to the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Pro League. Following the 2012 season, Rodriguez returned to Charlotte to finish his degree in political science and criminal justice.
Rodriguez’s hiring rounds out the defending national champions’ 2016 coaching staff. Oige Kennedy, who was brought on as a volunteer assistant in late February, has been promoted to assistant coach. He fills the role of the departed John Smith, who was hired in March to lead the Cornell men’s soccer program.
“Every coach will work with all facets of the program,” Gunn added. “Oige has tremendous experience as a goalkeeper, Nick as a midfielder and forward and Charles as a defender, which is great as we look at functional training and how to improve each individual in the role that they have. We have a great balance within the squad to help players continuously develop and thrive.”
The Cardinal won its first NCAA men’s soccer title at Sporting Park in December, routing Clemson 4-0, the largest margin of victory in a College Cup final since 1975. The win, which extended the school’s streak of at least one NCAA team championship to an ongoing record 40 years, was Stanford’s 108th NCAA team title and 129th overall.